Deresh Ramjugernath has recently been appointed as rector and Vice Chancellor of the Stellencosch University, his appointment started April 1st 2025. He was previously deputy Vice-Chancelor of research at the university of Kwazulu-Natal. Deresh is a renowded scholar and professor in Chemical Engineering and Thermodynamics.
He obtain a Ph.D in chemical engineering at the University of Kwazulu-Natal in 2000 and since then he published 240 peer reviewed papers on the subject. His research focuses on Thermodynamics / Separation including high-pressure vapor-liquid equilibria, low-pressure vapor-liquid equilibria, liquid-liquid equilibria, phase equilibria with chemical reaction, pyrolysis, high-temperature thermodynamics, gas hydrate separation, and high-pressure plasma reactors.
In 2015 Deresh has been elected as a fellow of the Academy of Sciences of South Africa, The African Academy of Sciences mainly for his success in creating one of the best research group worldwide on chemical thermodynamics and separation technology. He has also been awarded with the National Research Foundation President’s Award and the University of Kwazulu-Natal Vice Chancellor’s Research Award.